No tenure beef in station deal

Brad ThompsonThe West Australian

Friday, 29 April 2016 5:00AM

Camera IconAn investment fund run by former Elders executive Dale Champion and Shanghai-based Michael Wadley has purchased the four properties — Moola Bulla, pictured, Mt Amhurst, Beefwood Park and Shamrock Station — from South African interests for close to $100 million.

A row over land tenure reforms has failed to deter overseas investors behind a record-breaking deal to buy four cattle stations in the Kimberley.

An investment fund run by former Elders executive Dale Champion and Shanghai-based Michael Wadley has purchased the four properties — Moola Bulla, Mt Amhurst, Beefwood Park and Shamrock Station — from South African interests for close to $100 million.

Mr Champion, whose firm Agrify manages the fund on behalf of international investors, said they were comfortable with the tenure provided by pastoral leases in WA and not put off by proposed changes to the Land Administration Act.

“If we thought there were major issues with it, we wouldn’t have made the acquisition,” he said.

The four stations, purchased from Nico Botha’s SAWA Pastoral Company, cover more than one million hectares and carried about 47,000 cattle at the end of the 2015 muster.

Mr Champion said the new owners would invest in the properties immediately in line with plans drawn up by SAWA.

“We see the SAWA aggregation as exciting because it is undeveloped and we are very, very keen to develop some of the country up there,” he said.

“That area has now proven to be as well located as any to some of our offshore markets. We’d expect that there is enormous opportunity to develop properties like Moola Bulla with water and fencing infrastructure.”

Mr Champion said the Kimberley had been seen as a “one-trick pony” in that most production was based on lightweight cattle export to Indonesia.

“We see value if we can help the industry up there move away from selling lightweight cattle (up to 320kg) to selling more valuable product (450kg-plus). If we can help with some of the infrastructure and development to achieve that, it is exciting.

“We are seeing Vietnam emerge and taking heavier cattle and that will lead into China in due course. If we can help develop other markets using some of our network and some of our investor network, perhaps we can add to that.”

Mr Champion said Agrify was also keen to support a new abattoir between Broome and Derby developed by Yeeda Pastoral Company boss Jack Burton.

Agrify will press ahead with applications lodged by SAWA to tap into the La Grange aquifer on Shamrock Station, which is 150km from Broome. SAWA planned to develop Shamrock for cattle backgrounding and feeding. The plan involved producing irrigated fodder.